Jenny Jaeckel

Initially, I was excited to read an emotionally moving account of life in the NICU. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The overall writing style and illustrations were quite dull. I just couldn’t get into it enough to emotionally connect, nor stay focused to read it. That was before getting to p. 74 when I felt shocked/confused about the "I love their fat little vaginas!" line. That little creeper appeared out of nowhere. Then there was p. 75. This just made me angry as an Autistic person. The anti-vaccine conspiracy about ASDs is scientifically unfounded. Its ignorant and dangerous, not to mention highly offensive to those of us actually on the spectrum. Maybe it’s hard for the author to understand but comparing someone's brain to "brain damage" and "diseases" is beyond insensitive. Further, it just plain inaccurate/wrong. And, saying that you don't want to vaccinate to prevent Autism, which vaccines don't even cause, sounds to an Autistic person like you are saying you hate them, their neurology, and their community so much you would rather your child suffer or even die from a preventable illness just so that your child wouldn't be like them. We deal with these and other harmful stereotypes and stigma every single day. Unfortunately, this one is now costing people, children, their lives. I had to stop and calm myself to the point where my anger was more annoyance to even continue the book. Though, it did create an emotional response. The rest of the book was much like the first part, un-intriguing. Also, in case the author cares Allah is just the Arabic word for God (literally ‘the God’ though in English instead of a definite article we just capitalize the G)) and Muslims worship the same God as Jews and Christians. It’s not a different deity. I can't really recommend it to anyone (even to my friends and family with connections to a NICU). On the positive side, Spoiler alert, I’m glad Asa is doing well.… (plus d'informations)

I really do not have the words to express how moving, how vivid, and how captivating this story is. Jaeckel has a way of not only bringing the story to life before your eyes, but evoking emotions that you feel right at your core. The characters are real, not just because of their depth, but because of the way they almost step out from the pages and into your living room. You can't help falling in love with this book from the first chapter, Talia being a brilliant narrator that captures your heart immediately. A coming-of-age story that will stand the test of time for years to come.… (plus d'informations)

Tale of one family’s Journey from slavery on a sugar plantation in 1785 on the remote French island of Martinique, to freedom in Philadelphia in 1964. Starting with the book of Abeje, a young child of six, who is orphaned, and must take care of her four-year-old brother, Adunbi. Their mother was murdered by an overseer. This story tells how, over the span of two centuries. Abeje soon shows an affinity for becoming a healer. Each chapter of the second book is told from the third person perspective of a different member of the Rougeaux family.

The chapters each take place in a different time period. The writing descriptive, even though some of the old-fashioned words were hard to understand. I just could not connect to this book I found myself plodding through the book to the end.… (plus d'informations)